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“Million Mile Reflections” Artist Hired For Hospital Gala

The original long-haired country boys in the Charlie Daniels Band are headed for Fayetteville. On April 3, the band will play to an expected-sellout crowd for the Washington Regional Medical Foundation’s eighth annual gala at the Walton Arts Center, said Bill Rogers, the foundation’s senior vice president. The proceeds will help build and equip Washington Regional Medical Center’s critical care nursery at the new hospital that is under construction on North Hills Boulevard in Fayetteville.

Balcony seat tickets are available for $75 each, and floor seat sponsorship tickets sell for $500 per pair. The auditorium holds about 1,200 people, and Rogers said he expects to make a minimum of $40,000 for the nursery.

Although he declined to name the cost of hiring the Charlie Daniels Band, Rogers said the band’s talent managers, the William Morris Agency, offered the foundation a good deal for the event.

This year, the Bank of Arkansas also became the largest single sponsor in the gala’s history with a $15,000 contribution. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Arkansas will also sponsor the event for $10,000.

During the evening, the foundation will recognize three Northwest Arkansas residents for health leadership. Betty Battenfield, former chairwoman of the University of Arkansas School of Nursing’s Associate Degree of Nursing program, Lawrence Schmieding, founder of H.C. Schmieding Produce Co., and Dick Trammel, a director for Arvest Bank, will all be honored at the gala.